The invention relates to a vehicle shield for mounting to the hood of a vehicle, and to methods for manufacturing and shipping a vehicle shield for mounting to the hood of a vehicle.
Numerous vehicle shield devices have been placed on the fronts of vehicles in an attempt to protect the fronts of the vehicles from contact with road debris and to deflect airflow away from the windshields. These devices are often referred to as bug shields or airflow deflectors. Airflow deflectors are described by U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,483 to Lund assigned to Lund Industries, Incorporated, the assignee of the above-identified patent application. Additional U.S. patents disclosing airflow deflectors include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,815,700 to Mittendorf; 3,015,517 to Thornburgh; 4,153,129 to Redmond; and 4,052,099 to Lowery et al.
Vehicle shield devices are generally long enough to span the width of a vehicle hood. Wrap around vehicle shield devices generally extend beyond the edge of the hood and extend rearwardly. Because of the length of vehicle shield devices, they can be expensive to ship.
A vehicle shield device is provided according to the invention. The vehicle shield device includes a hood protector region and hood attachment region. The hood protector region is constructed for extending across at least a portion of a vehicle hood for protecting the vehicle hood. The hood protector region includes at least one flexible region for allowing folding of the hood protector region. The hood attachment region is constructed for attaching the hood protector region to a vehicle hood. The hood attachment region includes a first hood attachment flange attached to at least a portion of the hood protector region and constructed for attaching to a left side of a vehicle hood, and a second hood attachment flange attached to at least a portion of the hood protector region and constructed for attachment to a right side of a vehicle hood. The hood attachment flanges are preferably provided for attaching to the underside of the vehicle hood using a fastener.
The hood protector region and the hood attachment region can be provided from a molded and continuous plastic sheet. The plastic sheet can comprise a polymer composition that allows the vehicle shield device to be folded one or more times so that the vehicle shield device can be shipped in a container that is shorter than the full length of the vehicle shield device as it would be provided when mounted to a vehicle hood. Preferably, the plastic sheet is prepared from a polymer composition that is sufficiently flexible so that the area or areas of fold do not include any appreciable cracking or crazing. Exemplary polymer compositions for providing the plastic sheet can be polycarbonate polymer containing compositions. It is expected that other polymer compositions and blends of polymers can be used to provide the desired degree of flexibility while resisting cracking and crazing. It is expected that the vehicle shield device can be folded once, or folded numerous times in order to decrease the angle of fold or bend and thereby reduce the amount of stress provided on the shield device at the area of fold and thereby further reduce the occurrence of cracking and/or crazing. For example, the shield device can be folded twice, three times, four times, etc.
It should be understood that the terms cracking and crazing, as used herein, refers to the existence of a commercially unacceptable level of cracking and/or crazing. There may be an amount of cracking and/or crazing that is commercially acceptable because it does not disfigure the shield device from the perspective of an ordinary consumer. In addition, the existence of a certain level of cracking and/or crazing may be permissible if the useful life of the shield device is not so adversely effected that it decreases the commercial value or acceptability of the shield device. Accordingly, the reference in this application to a lack of appreciable cracking or crazing refers to a level of cracking or crazing that renders the shield device commercially unacceptable.
A method for manufacturing a vehicle shield is provided by the invention. The method includes a step of cutting a sheet of plastic material to provide a work piece having the desired form, and molding the work piece to provide the vehicle shield device. An exemplary technique of molding includes drape molding.
A method for shipping a vehicle shield is provided according to the invention. The method includes steps of bending at least a portion of the vehicle shield device to provide a folded vehicle shield device, and then placing the folded vehicle shield device in a container for shipment. The bend or bends provided in the vehicle shield device can be any degree sufficient to reduce the overall length of the vehicle shield device. For example, a single bend or fold can be significantly less than 180xc2x0 and even less than 90xc2x0. Furthermore, the vehicle shield device can be folded once, twice, three times, four times, etc. in order to provide the resulting folded vehicle shield with the desired configuration for shipment. The summation of the interior fold angles provided by a vehicle shield device according to the invention provided in a folded configuration can be between about 120xc2x0 and 360xc2x0, and can be between 130xc2x0 and 180xc2x0. When provided in a folded configuration, the vehicle shield can be shipped in a shorter container than would otherwise be required for the vehicle shield not being in a folded configuration.